1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates generally to animal watering dishes and more particularly to apparatus for continuously supplying water to an animal drinking receptacle.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
As a consequence of the large numbers of domestic animals or pets being maintained in homes throughout the world, there is a substantial demand for equipment which facilitates the care and feeding of such animals. While many pet owners may provide food and water for their pets in bowls used for conventional cooking or serving of food for humans, most pet owners ultimately acquire food and water bowls or receptacles which are particularly adapted to the needs of their pets. These bowls or receptacles are usually break-resistant, being made of plastic so as to withstand the rough usage to which they are subjected. In addition, the bowls or receptacles are shaped to have a broad base to increase the stability and lessen the possibility of the animal or pet tipping the bowl or receptacle when eating or drinking.
It is important for an animal or pet watering bowl to have sufficient capacity to satisfy the requirements during the period of the owners absence. This period may be in excess of ten hours while the owner is away during the day at work. It is also important that the watering bowl be designed to minimize the spillage of water by the animal or pet when drinking from the bowl.
There are many examples in the prior art of animal watering apparatus which utilized inverted bottles to supply water to an open receptacle from which an animal may drink. The inverted bottle serves as a reservoir to increase the overall water capacity of the apparatus so that the apparatus may supply the needs of an animal over a longer period of time than could the conventional dish or receptacle. Such apparatus typically makes use of the two liter bottles in which carbonated beverages are typically sold.
One example of such prior art watering apparatus is disclosed in the U.S. Design Pat. No. D-296,371 to Lorenzana, et al. Other prior art patents disclosing watering apparatus including supply reservoirs separate from a drinking receptacle are U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,434 to Gardner; U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,365 to Futers, et al.; and U.S. Design Patents No. D-289,808 to Gardner, U.S. Pat. No. D-294,750 to Atchley; and U.S. Pat. No. D-300,277 to Clark.
The prior art animal watering apparatus which employ such inverted bottles as supplementary water reservoirs are well accepted as a means of increasing the water capacity of the watering apparatus and of increasing the time over which the apparatus can satisfy the needs of a pet or animal. However, there are problems in using any known watering apparatus for large dogs or other large animals. When such animals drink from a shallow water receptacle, they have a tendency to splash the water out of the receptacle onto the adjacent floor area. In addition, when such animal interrupts or ceases drinking from such receptacles, the animal tends to drip or drool large amounts of water outside of the receptacle onto the adjacent floor area. As a consequence, much of the water is wasted and is not effective in satisfying the needs of the animal. This condition decreases the effective capacity of the apparatus.
In the past, the problem presented by the large dog was attempted to be solved by merely providing a larger bowl. However, the larger bowl often results in more splashing outside of the receptacle with more wasting of water and staining of the floor area around the watering apparatus. Regardless of the size of a bowl or receptacle, most animals, particularly dogs, tend to drink the water adjacent the side wall of the bowl, causing the splashing out of the bowl onto the floor. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a watering apparatus for use by large animals which would minimize water loss or spillage caused by the animal splashing during and after drinking.